Nowadays, data storage media of digital cameras and digital disk cameras have enormously increased capacities, and it has become possible to record various data files of movie data, audio data, still image data, and the like in a randomly accessible storage media such as a CompactFlash (registered trademark), MO disk, and the like. A digital disk camera can easily photograph still images and moving images, and thus the amount of photographed data has dramatically increased, as compared to a conventional use of films.
It is, however, difficult to manage a large number of data files. For this reason, attempts have been made to increase the searchability of data files by automatically grouping the data files or grouping the user's favorite ones. There has also been provided a nondestructive movie edit function which exploits data random accessibility and uses a reproduction control script (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,266,483).
As described above, data stored in a recording medium is sometimes grouped or referred to by a reproduction control script. The data does not exist alone but coexists with other information. To delete a file, groups and reference from the reproduction control script always need to be managed. However, it is difficult to completely manage a large number of files and their referential relationships.
For example, assume that a certain file is directly referred to from a management file or a reproduction control script. To change the file name of the referred file, the contents of all management files and reproduction control scripts that refer to the file must be updated.